Home » Nepal Travel Information » If Nepal doesn't bring a smile to your face every single day, you are a lost cause! - Jack Witts

If Nepal doesn't bring a smile to your face every single day, you are a lost cause! - Jack Witts

With a reputation as one of the most beautiful places in the world, there are lots of opportunities to see some amazing sights in Nepal. This page will show you the breathtaking views Nepal offers - from the roof of the world to the wildest animals in the oldest national parks.

Let's start with the Himalayas!

1. Fishtail Mountain and the Annapurna range

Credit: Esmar Abdul Hamid via Flickr/Licensed under CC BY 2.0
Mount Machhapuchchhre (also known as Fishtail mountain) as seen from a small village called Sarangkot just above Pokhara.

Machhapuchhre (a Nepali word) translates to "tail of a fish". The two summits of the mountain resemble the shape of a fish's tail, that's how this mountain got its name. The shape is more clearly visible when seen from Ghandruk, which is one of the stops in Annapurna trekking region in Nepal. Ghandruk is about 5 hours hiking distance far from Pokhara.[1]Fishtail mountain as seen from Ghandruk

Fishtail Mountain as seen from Ghandruk village
Photo by: Lamsisir via Wikimedia Commons

2. The Mount Everest

You can't really talk about Nepal and not include the Everest. Standing 29,029 feet high from the sea[2], it offers challenging trekking to the base camp and even moredangerous route to its summit. Nevertheless, more people are motivated to reach its summit every year.

Credit: Sam Hawley via Flickr/Licensed under CC BY 2.0
Mount Everest under the stars at night.

3. Pokhara

Credit: Mike Behnken via Flickr/ CC BY-ND 2.0
Honestly, this is the most beautiful picture of Pokhara I have ever seen!

The above picture was taken from Sarangkot, which is about 25 minutes ride from Pokhara. Sarangkot is just 11 km away[3] and is a perfect place to enjoy breathtaking scenes of the Pokhara valley and the Phewa lake below, and the Annapurna range in the north.

Just for one day in a year, Pashupati is visited by over 700,000 pilgrims all over from South Asia. Statistics shows that 115,000 out of the total visitors are from India alone.

There is a tourist deck just east of the main temple premises from where one can enjoy the peace of Bagmati river and the Bankali forest around them. Mrigasthali (translates to "home to the deer") is a sanctuary on the eastern part of thePashupati area which is home to spotted deer, barking deer and black bucks.

Credit: Dhilung Kirat via Flickr
Pashupatinath Temple in all its glory on the day of Mahashivaratri (the birthday of Lord Shiva)

6. Shey Phoksundo Lake

Credit: Carsten.nebel via Wikimedia Commons

Located on the remote western district of Dolpa, it is one of the highlights of Shey Phoksundo National Park. The national park is the largest and the only trans- Himalayan park in Nepal. It covers almost 2.5% land area of Nepal.

7. Chitwan National Park

Chitwan National Park is one of the oldest national parks in Nepal. It is about 15 minutes away from the capital Kathmandu via air. It is the richest animal sanctuary in terms of biodiversity with:

68 species of mammals (including Gangetic dolphins, one-horned rhinoceros and the

The stupa with the largest single Chhyorten in the world, stands 118 feet tall from its base. It is believed to have been built just after the death of Lord Gautam Buddha and was the center of ancient trade route between Kathmandu and Lhasa (in Tibet)

Buddhists pilgrims revolve around this massive stupa enchanting their sacred song "Om Mani Padme hum" and it is believed to bring peace, prosperity and spiritual well-being from within.

Waiting for sunrise. This is taken from Nagarkot, on the northeastern hills of Kathmandu Valley. Yes, the land below the clouds is Kathmandu valley and includes some areas of Shivapuri National Park.

11. (Bonus!) The Barun Valley

Barun valley is a very little known tourist place in Nepal. It is located in a protected wildlife reserve - Makalu-Barun National Park. It shares its border with
Arun valley in the west (which is the deepest valley in the world), with Tibet in the north and India in the east.

As it lies just on the base of Mount Makalu (27,766 feet), the valley has a contrast in elevation and landscapes. High waterfalls, foggy mountains, snow-capped mountains, deep gorges and even tropical forests shelter in this beautiful mountainous

Manang is a place beyond the Himalayas. It is the least populated district of Nepal and a very weird thing is that there are no blacktopped roads. That is, the length of motorable roads is zero. Yup, Nepal is truly a weird place.

However, it has much more to offer than zero. I'll let the following picture speak of
itself!